St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (Madison, Wisconsin) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
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St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
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| Location | 404 E. Main St. Madison, Wisconsin |
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| Architect | John Nader |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 82000657 |
| Added to NRHP | September 16, 1982 |
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is an old and important Catholic church located near Capitol Square in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. It was built to serve the St. Patrick parish. This parish later joined with two other churches, St. Raphael and Holy Redeemer. They formed a new group called the Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael after the old Saint Raphael's Cathedral was destroyed by a fire in 2005.
In 1972, the city of Madison recognized the church as a special landmark. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. This was because of its unique and important design.
Contents
Church Design and Style
St. Patrick's Church is built in a style called Romanesque Revival. This means it looks like old Roman buildings. The church has a rectangular shape. A tall, 100-foot tower stands on the right side of the front.
The first pastor, Father Knox, asked local architect John Nader to design the church. Nader had also designed another church where Father Knox used to work.
Tower and Outside Look
The church tower has a narrow, shingled dome at the very top. This dome sits on eight small triangular parts. These parts connect the dome to the octagonal (eight-sided) wooden frame below it. Each side of this frame has a round window.
The bottom part of the church is made of local sandstone. The rest of the building uses cream-colored bricks with stone decorations. Each section of the church walls has a round-arched window. These sections are separated by flat columns with stone tops.
Inside the Church
Inside, the church has a plaster ceiling that curves gently. The areas around the windows have half-curved ceilings that connect to the main ceiling.
The current inside look of the church was created during a renovation in 1957. This included the altar area, the communion rail, and parts of the side altars. These parts are made from three different types of marble.
History of St. Patrick's
The St. Patrick parish was started to serve the many Irish families living east of Capitol Square. In 1886, land was bought for the new church. On May 24, 1888, the St. Patrick parish was officially created.
Irish-born Father Patrick Knox became the first pastor. He worked hard to organize the church members and raise money for the new building. The church was officially opened on Saint Patrick's Day in 1889. A special ceremony was held with Archbishop Michael Heiss from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In 1907, a Catholic school was opened next to the church. It was run by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.
Changes Over Time
The church was updated in 1957, and new facilities were added in 1958. However, over the years, fewer people lived in the downtown area. This was because more people moved to the suburbs. Also, the University of Wisconsin grew, and the state government expanded.
The number of people in the parish and school started to drop faster when St. Peter's parish opened in 1967. In 1977, the school closed. It was then sold to the Salvation Army. The old convent building, where the nuns lived, became a center for religious education. Later, it became a service center for Catholic Charities USA.
By the 2000s, there were not enough priests to staff all the churches in the Diocese of Madison. So, in October 2007, it was announced that the three downtown parishes would merge. This merger happened on July 1, 2008. It was part of a bigger plan to reorganize churches in the area.
